Joseph Baldeschi Interview

Joseph Baldeschi was born in Pennsylvania in 1924 but following the untimely death of his mother was sent to Italy to be raised by his grandparents. Returning to the US in 1938, Joe graduated from high school in 1943 and was inducted into the US Navy. He was trained as an aerial gunner and subsequently transferred to NAS Whidbey Island, WA and assigned to Fleet Wing Four, VPB-139 destined for Attu Island, Alaska. Their assignment was to photograph the northern section of the Japanese Kurile Islands, primarily the islands of Paramushiro and Shimushu, and destroy military installations. Just 10 days into his tour, Joe was wounded by shrapnel created by the explosion of an enemy shell. He was later awarded the Purple Heart.

Read an account of Joe's injury during combat, written by Joe's crewmate Chet Silas.

An officer from Fleet Airwing 4 awarding Joe Baldeschi the purple heart.

Courtesy Joe Baldeschi, ARM 2c, VB-139, June 1943-June 1945.

Download a full transcript of Joe's interview.

• Interview - Joseph Baldeschi

  
  

  Listen to an interview with Joseph Baldeschi, WWII veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS / Janis Kozlowski

  Date created:

  06/16/2008

  Audio Transcript

  Joe Baldeschi Transcript Summary (download full transcript above)

  [0:00:29] permission to record the conversation

  [0:01:21] enlisting in the Navy

  [0:01:45] training for aerial gunner and radar specialist

  [0:03:01] getting to Alaska on a PV-2

  [0:03:23] daily life on Attu, being cold on Attu

  [0:04:12] losing mother at age 4, growing up in Italy, returning to the US at 16

  [0:06:04] enlisting at 19

  [0:06:30] Earl Silas

  [0:07:37] date of arrival at Whidbey Island, date of arrival on Attu, journey from Whidbey to Attu

  [0:09:42] arriving at Attu to a party, drinking Grade A anti-icer

  [0:11:14] tasks as radio and radar man on the PV-2, differentiating between a whale and a sub with radar

  [0:13:05] flying with the same crew, crew names, Janssen’s inadequate training as a pilot

  [0:15:35] Earl Silas’ first encounter with anti-aircraft fire over Kurile Islands

  [0:16:56] types of missions flown, frequency of encountering Japanese planes over the Kurile Islands

  [0:18:36] removing tail guns from the aircraft, Tokyo Rose reporting removal of guns from the airplane, Tokyo Rose affect on service men

  [0:20:38] length of missions to Kurile Islands, fear of running out of fuel on one flight

  [0:22:03] flight instructions to avoid radar detection, how radar worked

  [0:22:45] taking a bullet in the propeller, fear of not making it back to Attu

  [0:24:02] mission where Anzalone and Baldeschi were wounded on a Kurile Island mission in March 1945, Joe saves the crew with fearless actions to stop a smoldering fire, Congressional Medal of Honor never received

  [0:28:47] leaving Attu in August 1945, learning sign language at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital

  [0:30:06] receiving the purple heart

  [0:30:57] discharge date, going to college after the war and taking aviation related jobs

  [0:32:22] jobs held right after the war, starting his own company, explanation of a rotating electrical conduit he designed that is still in use today

  [0:36:05] Danbar Industries, what applications his products were used in

  [0:37:28] significance of Navy training to profession

  [0:38:07] keeping in contact with Marge during the war, proposing marriage to Marge

  [0:38:55] returning home from Italy to a blended family, meeting Marge

  [0:41:05] keeping in touch with Marge while on Attu

  [0:41:23] keeping in touch with current events while on Attu

  [0:41:48] weather on Attu, one-way runway on Attu, landing procedure on Attu for a go-around, loss of an aircraft off Attu strip during a go-around

  [0:45:08] opinion of Stahley the pilot, Stahley’s pilot training

  [0:46:13] Aleutian weather, ditching procedure that was fraught with problems

  [0:48:48] alternate landing spot at Petropavlovst, Russia as last resort

  [0:49:54] voting to land at Petro after taking a bullet to the propeller, making it back to Attu safely

  [0:51:34] squadron losses

  [0:52:46] rivalry between the Army Air Force and Navy, Navy Commander

  [0:53:45] housing, Quonset huts

  [0:54:58] food, breakfast for those on a mission, Spam

  [0:56:42] attitude about Attu, finding a fox den on Attu

  [0:58:04] ban on walking around the island for fear of Japanese left behind, recreation

  [0:59:26] boxing

  [1:01:29] chaplain, getting up at 2 am for missions, revetments, showering a long way from the housing area

  [1:03:12] getting snowed into a Quonset hut

  [1:03:57] camaraderie among air crews, reunions, effort made to find missing crew members following the war, loss of friend Tommy Anzalone

  [1:08:51] Ernie Orchard, drinking story of “ouchi”

  [1:11:28] housing for officers and enlisted men

  [1:11:57] Stahley comes by to drink with the crew, Attu as a dry community

  [1:12:45] nose art

  [1:13:56] stopping in Yakutat, attending a dance with Native Alaskans

  [1:18:40] talking with Native whalers in southeast Alaska

  [1:19:29] Governor of Rotary International, accomplishments in one year of Governor-ship, conferences for Rotary International, voted Number 1 Governor of 32 districts, “threatening” Rotary clubs with his mafia connections

  [1:28:18] stepmother blocks access to school, stepmother prohibits Joe from returning to their house to live following the war, living with relatives

  [1:31:46] attempting to play the piano at his father’s house

  [1:33:38] preparing a transcript, returning copies of the interview and transcript to Joe and family members

  End of interview at 1:35:11

The following is from a letter written by Chester E. Silas in 2004 and delivered to the Naval Legal Services Southeast office in Florida in December 2004.

November 4, 2003[sic]

To Whom It May Concern:

The following is my recollection of the events that occurred during the flight of Squadron VPB-139 on May 10, 1945.

On the tenth of May, 1945, two flights of four planes each made an anti-shipping sweep to the Kurile Islands, with Minamizaki as the secondary target. Crew Five was part of the first flight under the command of LCDR Glenn A. David USNR, Commanding Officer of Squadron VPB-139.

On this flight, Drew Five was made up of the following personnel:

POSITION	NAME	RANK/RATE 1945	2003
Pilot	A. Paul Stehley	Lt.	Deceased
Co-pilot	R.D. Switzer	Ens.	Deceased
Navigator	H.T. Janssen	Ens.	Deceased
Plane Captain	A.G. Molten	AMM 1/C	Deceased
Radioman	J. Baldeschi	ARM 2/C	Retired
Gunner	C.E. Silas	AOM 3/C	Retired

The mission was uneventful during the anti-shipping sweep. When the decision was made to drop our bombs and strafe Minamizaki, our plane was met with heavy A/A fire. During this phase of the mission, our plane was hit over thirty times by shrapnel. One or more of the hits caused an electrical fire in the radio compartment. ARM 2/C Joe Baldeschi was wounded in the right arm and right leg, but remained at his post. in the plane we were flying (PV-2 Harpoon), the Navigator's table was located on top of a fuel tank. The electrical fire in the radio compartment was very close to this fuel tank. ARM 2/C Baldeschi grabbed the wiring with both hands, pulling the wires free, thus stopping the fire from reaching the fuel tank. I believe that ARM 2/C Baldeschi's quick action resulted in the members of Crew 5 being able to live full, productive and happy lives. Yes, I truly believe that this action by Joe saved our lives.

If I can be of further service or provide more information to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

[signed 12/2/04]
Chester E. Silas